Here's what investors should know about rocket builder Astra as it prepares to go public CNBC 2/23/2021 Michael Sheetz Rocket builder Astra is preparing to go public. CEO Chris Kemp spoke to CNBC, differentiating his company from a pack of competitors and explaining how Astra will hit an unprecedented launch rate with daily deliveries in under five years. "We're actually building a space platform – in much the same way that when Amazon started, they weren't marketing themselves as a delivery truck company or a warehouse company," Kemp said. The cash proceeds expected from the deal also include a 30 million venture funding round that Astra closed in the weeks before the Holicity SPAC merger was announced.